Time Use

In the round 1 series of questions on time use, respondents born in 1982, 1983, or 1984 assessed the amount of time in a typical week that they spent doing homework (if enrolled), taking extra classes or lessons, watching TV, and reading for pleasure. Youths born in 1980 who were not enrolled or employed were asked about the time they usually woke up, whether they went to any place on a regular basis, and the times that they left for and returned from that place.

In rounds 2 and 3, the time use series was addressed to respondents born in 1980 or 1981 who were not enrolled or employed. They were asked for the usual times that they got up, left their home, arrived home, and went to sleep on a typical weekday. Then the survey collected the main activities these respondents participated in and/or the places they went between waking and sleeping, as well as the number of hours spent at these places during a typical weekday. In the final question in this section, respondents reported the main activities or places where they spent time during the week before the survey.

Respondents were not asked time use questions in rounds 4 or 5. In round 6, three questions (S12254, S12255, and S12256) asking about time spent on the computer, watching TV, and sleep were asked to all respondents as part of a longer healthy behaviors series of questions in the Health section. No time use questions were asked after round 6.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys: In 1981, NLSY79 respondents provided detailed data on their use of time in the past seven days. This section recorded time spent working, attending school or training programs, sleeping, watching TV, caring for children, and completing household chores. For more information, refer to the NLSY79 User's Guide.

Survey Instruments: These questions are found in the time use section (question names begin with YTIM) of the Youth Questionnaire.